A Year of Change
by md53
Summary: Lily Evans and the infamous Marauders enter their seventh year at Hogwarts. Dark times approach as Voldemort rises to power. Led by James and Lily, several students will rise to the challenge while others succumb to darkness. In the process, Lily must deal with her changing feelings for James as she reminisces about the past six years at Hogwarts.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

_James Potter stared up at the shiny red train that was soon to whisk him away to the school where he would spend the next seven years of his life. It wasn't your typical school. In fact, it was a school like no other at all. Since he could first remember, James had known that he was not like most boys. No, instead he possessed magical powers that allowed him to perform unimaginable feats. He was a wizard, as were his mother and father._

_He glanced at his mother who stood at his side, staring down at him. It was then that he first noticed he was gripping her hand tightly. He quickly pulled his hand away, feigning an itch behind his ear. Eleven year old boys did not hold their mothers' hands. Although he was too proud to admit it, he was nervous to leave the comfort of his home and the security that he felt in the presence of his mum._

_"Well, I should probably be going then," he said in the bravest voice possible. "I've got to find a good seat."_

_His mother nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right." She pulled him into a hug._

_After a moment he struggled free. "Alright, alright. I'll miss you too, Mum."_

_"Remember to owl," she choked. "Every day if you'd like."_

_James rolled his eyes, but after noticing the sadness in her expression, he nodded in agreement. "Alright, every day it is. And say goodbye to Dad for me."_

_James had hoped that his father would be present to see him off to school. But he was currently away, working on some top secret mission for the Ministry of Magic._

_"I will tell him, Sweetie. He will miss you very much."_

_She kissed James on the top of the head as he spun to gather his belongings. She turned away before tears began to spill down her cheeks._

_James looked over his shoulder to call one last good-bye, when, SMACK. He felt his body collide with another._

* * *

_After calling good-bye to her parents, Lily Evans nervously followed the crowd of young wizards towards the Hogwarts Express. She felt out of place in her jeans and t-shirt. Many of the older students were already clad in their school robes. _

_Lily was struggling to lift her trunk onto the train, when someone ran into her head on, knocking her flat on her back, spilling all of the contents of her trunk onto the platform. _

_She saw a young boy with messy brown hair smiling down at her. "Sorry mate!" He said as he offered her his hand. "Are you ok?"_

_Lily refused it. She helped herself to her feet and quickly began throwing her belongings back into her trunk. Many of the older students were pointing and laughing._

_"Let me help you," the boy offered, raising his wand._

_"No!" Lily snapped, slapping his wand out of her way. "You've done enough."_

_He looked hurt, but reluctantly stuffed his wand back into his pocket, and shrugged._

_"Ok, but I know the perfect spell…" the boy continued._

_"I don't care, leave me alone!" Lily snapped. She picked up one of her books that was lying open on the platform, and chucked it at him._

_Without hesitation, the boy ran away from the fiery, irate red head._

_At that moment, a young witch bent down, and handed Lily her History of Magic book that she had thrown after the boy._

_"Thanks," Lily said, looking up at her. She had long blond hair, and warm blue eyes. She looked to be about Lily's age. _

_"I'm Elise McKinnon," the girl introduced as Lily snapped her trunk shut._

_"Lily Evans," Lily held out her hand. "And whoever that boy is, I'm gonna kill him!"_

_Elise laughed. "I'll help you! That's James Potter, my cousin. He's quite a nuisance."_

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading! This story has been in the making for quite awhile now... I'm talking years! I've had many ideas of where I would like it to go, and I have finally put it to writing. Although the story will be taking place in the character's 7th year at Hogwarts, I couldn't resist including how Lily and James first met. Please keep reading & review! There will be a lot more to come!


	2. Chapter 1: Let's Play Ball!

**Chapter 1: Let's Play Ball!**

Lily Evans, a tall red-haired seventeen-year-old with dazzling green eyes, stared up at her father.

"Are you ready, Dad?" She asked as she took his hand.

"Let's do this," he said with a grimace. Mr. Evans squeezed his eyes shut as Lily pulled him quickly forward through what appeared to be a solid brick wall.

His eyes snapped open to see a glimmering red train appear before him. It was surrounded by a mob of people dressed in what looked to him like dressing gowns. Everywhere he looked there were children saying goodbye to parents or greeting old friends. There were owls in cages and cats leaping about. To say that Mr. Evans felt uncomfortable in this strange world would be the definition of an understatement.

Fortunately for Mr. Evans, Lily was entering her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mr. Evans would never need to enter this platform again as long as he lived.

"Here we are Dad!" Lily announced.

She was ecstatic to be re-entering the world in which she belonged. Hogwarts was her true home. Growing up in a family of muggles, Lily had been shocked to learn of the existence of the hidden wizarding world, and had quickly grown fond of anything and everything to do with magic. Her parents tried their best to be supportive after learning what Lily truly was. After all, she was just eleven years old when they discovered she was a witch. Despite their best efforts to be accepting of their daughter's new life, Lily knew that her parents drew straws each year to pick who had the unfortunate task of taking her to the train station.

"See any of your friends, Dear?" her father asked, hoping to get away as quickly as possible.

"Lily, Mr. Evans!" A boy named James Potter called from across the platform.

James was a tall, handsome young man who had fancied Lily since the first day of their first year at Hogwarts. James' athletic build, intriguingly messy brown hair, and warm golden-brown eyes made him quite popular among the ladies. Lily was very possibly the only exception to his charm. She had always found him to be arrogant, obnoxious, and juvenile. Unfortunately for her, Lily and James shared the same house and the same friends, which meant they were often forced to interact.

Over the summer, Lily had experienced what she referred to as a "momentary lapse of judgment", and allowed James to enter more deeply into her life. They had spent several days together, during which time Lily had begun to see James in an entirely different light. Spending time with him had challenged every conception she had ever had about him. She had discovered him to be caring, generous, and actually enjoyable. Naturally, Lily was left feeling perplexed and uncertain of how to react when she saw him again at school.

Lily was hoping to ignore James as much as possible and avoid talking about what had transpired over the summer. So when she saw him waving and grinning like a maniac across the platform, she tried to walk the other way. Regrettably, her father had seen him first and was already pulling her in James' direction.

_Please behave, Potter, _Lily pleaded in her mind as she approached him. He was standing with his best mate, Sirius Black, or as Lily referred to him, James' partner in crime.

"Hey there, Son," Mr. Evans greeted James by clapping him warmly on the shoulder.

"Hi Mr. Evans. It's great to see you again! And you too, Lily," he said with a wink in her direction.

Lily couldn't help noticing Sirius, smirking with interest next to James.

"Hi James," Lily forced herself to reply warmly. "I've-erm- missed you," she flicked her eyes toward her father as if to communicate to James that it was all part of an act.

"I've missed you more," James responded a bit too earnestly, causing Sirius' jaw to drop in utter disbelief. As far as Sirius knew, Lily despised James and would rather chop off her own foot than speak civilly to him.

"I'm sure you've already heard Lily's big news," Mr. Evans said, wrapping his arm proudly around Lily's shoulder.

"Dad-" Lily tried to interject as a blush rose in her cheeks.

"I'm afraid not," James replied, looking to Lily for an explanation.

Instead of explaining, Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny gold badge that read "_Head Girl"_ in elegant script.

"Head Girl! Lily, that's great. Congratulations! I mean, I suspected they'd choose you." James pulled her into a hug. He felt her stiffening uncomfortably in his arms and quickly released her.

"Lily, I can't believe you didn't tell your boyfriend you were chosen as Head Girl," Mr. Evans interjected.

"Boyfriend?" Sirius snorted, physically unable to hold in his laughter.

Lily glared at Sirius, her arms folded across her chest. "Dad, this here is Sirius Black, James' best mate. Don't' mind him... we think he's deranged."

Sirius reached his hand out to Mr. Evans. "Oh Lily-flower, you slay me with that wit of yours. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir. You have raised a lovely daughter. And let me tell you, Lily and James are quite the couple. You never see one without the other."

"I see what you mean," Mr. Evans whispered to Lily, who was preoccupied shooting Sirius a death glare.

"Prongs, don't you have something to tell Lily-flower?" Sirius nudged James with his elbow.

"Not now," James replied to him through clenched teeth.

The train whistled, announcing its imminent departure. _Saved by the bell_, James thought.

"Oh dear, I better let you get going then," Mr. Evans said, turning to his daughter. "I love you Sweetie, and I'm so proud of you. Have a great final year."

"Thanks Dad," Lily felt a lump in the back of her throat. She hated saying goodbye to her father. Fighting back tears, she released him. "Love you too."

"Goodbye James. Take good care of my daughter this year," he instructed. "And goodbye Sirius, it was a pleasure to meet you."

As Mr. Evans walked away, James picked up Lily's trunk and hoisted it onto the train.

"Padfoot, I need to talk to Lily for a moment, can I meet you on the train?" James said to Sirius, who replied with a knowing look and a salute as he jumped aboard.

"Look, Potter, I don't really want to talk about it, ok?" Lily sighed, trying to brush past him.

He stopped her by taking hold of her shoulders.

"Talk about what?"

"You know... what happened this summer," Lily blushed.

"That's actually not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh. Well, whatever it is, I don't have time. I have to go get ready to lead the prefects meeting," Lily said.

"That's actually what I want to talk to you about," James said. Lily thought for a moment that he looked hesitant.

"If you're going to ask if I will give you special privileges as Head Girl, I am not even going to answer that," Lily scowled. She broke free of his grasp and jumped onto the train.

"No, it's not that," James followed her nervously. "I actually have something to tell you. It's sort of important."

"What?" She spun around with her hands on her hips.

James reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a gold badge that was nearly identical to Lily's apart from displaying the words "_Head Boy"._

"Where did you get that?" Lily asked dumfounded.

"It's mine, Lily."

Lily shook her head. "No. It can't be. You weren't even a prefect."

"I know. I was just as shocked when this came in the mail. I wrote to Dumbledore, but apparently it isn't a mistake," James ran his fingers through his untidy hair. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Lily sighed. "You've done a lot of frustrating, idiotic things in your lifetime, but this one wasn't your fault."

The engine roared to life as the train lurched forward, the momentum knocking Lily forward into James. He caught her under the arms and lifted her back to her feet.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said, clearly flustered and a bit annoyed that James had come to her rescue. "Look, let's just get to the front compartment and get this meeting over with." Without another word, Lily spun around, and made her way up the train. She had never imagined that she would be spending the year working alongside James Potter. How had this happened?

"What's _he _doing here?" Asked Rodolphus Lestrange, sixth-year Slytherin prefect, as he entered the meeting. He was pointing angrily at James.

"Nice to see you too, Lestrange," James sneered. Before he could spout out a witty retort, James glanced at Lily to see her watching him. She was waiting for him to screw up and let her down. "Hope you had a good holiday," he finished painfully.

"What the hell, Potter? What are you doing here?" Lestrange demanded angrily.

"_James _is our new Head Boy, which means you need to treat him with respect," Lily said, a note of authority in her voice.

"What?" Several students asked at once.

"He can't be Head Boy. He was never even a prefect," said a Ravenclaw seventh year named Hazel Broughton.

"That's actually not true," said Remus Lupin, another of James' best mates, who was also a Gryffindor prefect. "_Each year one male and one female seventh year student will be appointed to serve their peers as Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A candidate for each position will be nominated by school faculty and chosen by members of the Wizengot based on moral integrity, leadership skills, and goodness of character," _Remus recited. "It's in _Hogwarts, A History_, and nowhere does it say the Head Boy must be a prefect first."

James nodded appreciation at Remus before clearing his throat. "Listen, I don't know why I was appointed to this position, but I do know that I take this responsibility very seriously. I am here for the same reason as all of you. We were chosen to represent the best and brightest of our school. Like Moony - I mean Remus- said, we were chosen based on integrity and on our potential to lead our classmates not only through words, but also through actions. We aren't only considered leaders when we sit together in meetings or when we patrol the hallways at night. We have opportunities to lead our classmates every moment of every day simply through the way we choose to live out our lives. Right now times are changing. Our world is facing fear and turmoil. In the midst of this upcoming year, we will no doubt experience challenges and hardships. It will be in those moments when our classmates will look to us to guide them and to lead by example. I am confident that all of you are up for the challenge, and I vow to lead you - alongside the talented Lily Evans - to the best of my abilities."

The compartment fell silent. Even Lily found herself speechless.

It was nearly an hour later when the meeting finally ended.

"Pfew," James sighed as the prefects filed out of the front compartment. He flopped down into a seat across from Remus. "That was brutal. I felt like I was on trial the entire time."

"For what it matters," Lily began, (she avoided looking at James by busying herself with cleaning up papers.) "I was impressed with how you handled the situation. I think you earned their respect."

Remus' jaw dropped. In six years, he had never heard Lily compliment James.

Before James could retort, the door to the compartment squeaked open, and a young looking girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckles poked her head in.

"Hello," Lily greeted. She instantly took in the girl's red puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here," the girl said, making to close the door.

"Wait," Lily reached out and held the door open. "Please, come in. Join us."

"Ok," the girl mumbled trying to mask a sniffle.

"I'm Lily Evans, and this is Remus Lupin and James Potter."

"Pleasure. I'm Tonks," the girl introduced herself and sat down tentatively next to Remus.

"Tonks, that's a cool name," James said. He took in the state of her and exchanged a glance with Lily who also looked concerned.

"Thanks. It's my last name actually. But nobody calls me by my first name."

"Nobody really calls us by our first names either," Remus said gesturing to himself and James. "James here is Prongs, and I go by Moony."

Tonks laughed. "Prongs and Moony are worse than Tonks."

"Are you a first year then?" Lily asked as she sat in the seat next to James, as far away from him as she could make herself.

"I am," Tonks said sadly.

"Why so blue?" James asked her.

Tonks sighed and began to pick at the hem of her robes. "I'm not sure coming to Hogwarts was a good idea."

"Did something happen?" Lily asked. She had a hunch that the girl's tears were about more than homesickness.

Tonks nodded. After a moment she explained: "I found myself sitting in a compartment with some older students. It turned out that one of them was my cousin, so I thought she would be nice to me. Instead, when she found out that my dad is a muggle, she called me a filthy... _you know_, and then she and her friends pushed me down and lit my robes on fire." She picked up the bottom of her robes, which were charred and fraying.

"What?!" James roared, startling Tonks. "Who is she? Your cousin I mean."

Lily couldn't help but notice the veins in James' neck bulging and his hands balled into fists.

"Bellatrix. Bellatrix Black."

Lily, James, and Remus knew Bellatrix all too well. To put it simply, she was pure evil. She lived to torment first years and was constantly flaunting her blood status. It was hard to believe that she was Sirius' cousin, who couldn't have been more opposite of her.

"That b-" James was interrupted by Remus.

"Tonks, not everyone here is like her. In fact, there are very few people at Hogwarts who think that they are God's gift to the wizarding world and who have to make themselves feel better by putting everyone else down. Everyone else here is really nice and welcoming," Remus said.

"He's right," Lily agreed. "I am muggle-born too, and I have great friends who always have my back. You're going to love it at Hogwarts, I promise."

"Thanks," Tonks smiled. "You all are really friendly at least."

"Well you should stick with us, girly," Lily said.

"Yeah, stay here. We'll take care of you!" James agreed.

"Ok," Tonks said with the first genuine smile she'd shown all day.

"There's actually something I have to do, but I will be right back," Lily announced. She glanced skeptically at James and Remus then back to Tonks. "Are you three going to be ok if I go?"

James grinned mischievously back at her. "Oh we'll be great." He winked at Tonks, who shook her head in agreement.

"You go ahead, Lily," Tonks encouraged. "We promise not to break anything."

"We do?" James teased.

"I've got my eyes on you," Lily laughed. She had to admit that it was adorable to see James interacting with the young girl who seemed very comfortable with him. She couldn't help but admire his ability to make anyone feel at ease.

It wasn't hard for Lily to find who she was looking for. Bellatrix Black and her friends were only two compartments down from them. There were five other Slytherins besides Bellatrix sprawled throughout the compartment.

Rage boiled up inside of Lily. She imagined poor Tonks surrounded by the evil gits as they laughed and tormented her for their own entertainment. Even through her anger, Lily recognized that acknowledging that she knew what they had done would put Tonks in future jeopardy.

She took a deep calming breath and pushed the door open.

"What do you want Mudblood?" Bellatrix screeched.

"I merely wanted to say hello, Bella," Lily smirked. "Of course I missed you over the summer."

"What the hell are you playing at Evans?"

Lily shrugged and leaned casually against the wall. "I didn't realize I was playing at anything."

"You're not welcome here, mudblood," sputtered Thorfinn Rowle, a massive, blonde, dimwitted Syltherin.

"That wasn't very nice, Rowle," Lily said with a fake pout. "Hasn't your mother ever taught you to mind your manners?"

"Enough, Evans," Bellatrix roared, rising to her feet. "Get out, or get hexed."

"You're threatening me now? Wow, it's so negative in here. Doesn't anyone have anything nice to say?" Lily goaded, wondering how far she could push before Bellatrix would snap.

"That's it," Bellatrix spat, brandishing her wand and shouting "_Stupefy."_

Lily ducked out of the way of the spell and pointed her own wand at Bellatrix.

"_Dicogratia,"_ she muttered as she spun her wand clockwise.

The room fell silent as the spell hit Bellatrix. Lily waited eagerly to see if her charm would be successful. She had spent a good part of the summer researching the charm, and had yet to actually try it out.

"What did you do to her?" Asked Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Nothing bad, I assure you," Lily replied.

"No, nothing bad indeed. In fact, that was some great wand work, Lily," Bellatrix said, her eyes round with surprise.

"Thank you, Bella. That was awfully nice of you."

"You are so welcome Lily. Lily. That is such a pretty name. Just like a beautiful flower," Bellatrix slapped her hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle her own voice.

"Aw, you are such a sweetheart, Bella," Lily grinned. "I have a random question for you. You see, I got my hair cut a few weeks ago, and I'm wondering what you think?" Lily tossed her hair over her shoulder for dramatic effect.

"Oh, I just love it! You have such beautiful red, silky hair."

"What the hell did you do to her?" Lestrange asked again. The rest of the group was still gawking at the scene unfolding between Lily and Bellatrix.

Lily shrugged. It took all her energy to stifle her laughter. "You know, I should probably be going," she said slyly.

"Goodbye Lily! Have a lovely day," Bellatrix was trying to cram her entire fist into her mouth.

Lily pulled the door open. "Oh, and Bella?"

"Yes?"

"I'm giving you a week's detention for trying to assault the Head Girl. Tata!" Lily said, beaming as she strode out of the compartment.

"Very good idea, Lily. I definitely deserve it," Bellatrix had called after.

Lily waited until the door slammed shut before she lost her composure. She was nearly hysterical by the time she reached the front compartment where she had left the others. The charm had worked perfectly. It was designed to cause the recipient to speak only kind words. It was a challenging spell that required great concentration in order to make it strong enough to override the receiver's free will. Lily was proud of how well it worked on her first attempt.

She couldn't wait to tell the others what she had done, but when she pushed open the compartment door, she was distracted entirely.

It was no longer just James, Remus and Tonks in the compartment. They had been joined by Elise McKinnon (Lily's very best friend), Sirius, Peter Pettigrew (another of James' mates), and about five other young students who looked to be first years. Someone had managed to produce music from an enchanted record player. Who knows where they had found that. Hadn't she only been gone ten minutes?

It also looked as if they had ordered all the food on the entire trolley. Wrappers littered the seats and chocolate frogs were jumping everywhere. Then again, so were people.

At first Lily thought they were just jumping over the seats at random, but then she caught a glimmer of gold out of the corner of her eye just before Sirius and a kid she didn't recognize went leaping past her. A snitch. They were playing some strange modified version of quidditch.

She couldn't resist. As quickly as possible, Lily reached out her hand, anticipating the snitch's last minute dive out of the clutches of its oncoming assailants. She closed her fingers around the tiny ball, and felt it go limp in her hand. One by one everyone froze. Even the music somehow went quiet.

A few seconds of silence passed. Those who knew her well were anticipating her heated reaction.

"I want Lily on my team!" Tonks cried, breaking the silence.

"That was amazing!" The others began to comment. "How did you do that?"

"I thought you'd never played Quidditch," James exclaimed, reaching out for the snitch.

"I thought you weren't going to break anything," she retorted, pulling her hand away, but he was too quick. He caught her wrist and pried the snitch from her fingers, flashing her a comical grin.

"We didn't break anything, did we Tonks?" he asked over his shoulder.

"No, we've been extra careful," Tonks agreed. "Prongs was just teaching me to play quidditch. He even recruited all these people to help."

Lily turned back to James, realizing that he was still holding her wrist. But she didn't pry it away.

"Aw come on, Lil. We're just having some fun," Elise chimed in from where she sat on the back of a seat.

"Even you?" Lily asked in mock disappointment. But no one failed to notice her grin. Especially not James.

"Potter, as head students we're obligated to enforce the rules, aren't we?"

"That is true, Lily. But can you remind me where the rule is written that says no quidditch on the train?" he replied.

"I don't know. I don't think there is one," she laughed.

"Then let's play ball!" James announced, throwing the snitch up into the air. And the chaos resumed.

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading! I've been working on this story for quite awhile and just began organizing my thoughts to get it posted. There are a few different directions I might take it, so I would LOVE for your feedback and ideas. Please review! More to come very soon.


	3. Ch 2: I Know What You Did Last Summer

**Chapter 2: I Know What You Did Last Summer**

They had just managed to straighten out their compartment as the train pulled into the station. Lily's group was the first off and stood together waiting for the carriages to arrive.

Since boarding the train, Lily had barely had a chance to say two words to her best friend, who now pulled her eagerly aside from the others. After giving Lily a massive hug, Elise let go and folded her arms across her chest. She was several inches shorter than Lily and had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She and Lily had been inseparable since their first train ride to Hogwarts.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Elise said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, even though she had a pretty good idea what her friend was referring to.

"Sirius told me that your dad referred to James as your _boyfriend! _I told him he was absolutely crazy, but then I come to find you and James practically holding hands back there. What is going on?" Elise was nearly shouting.

Lily shushed her, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening.

"It's not what you think," Lily whispered. "And we weren't practically holding hands."

"Well then tell me. What is this all about?"

"Not now," Lily said. "We've just arrived and it's a very long story."

"Fine," Elise conceded. "At least tell me, did something happen over the summer between you and James?"

Lily nodded reluctantly, knowing full well that she wouldn't back down without an answer. Elise let out a squeal that was cut off by Tonks, who ran eagerly up to Lily.

"Lily, guess what! Moony just told me that I get to take a boat across the lake!"

Giddy with excitement, Tonks looked like an entirely different girl than Lily had met that morning. In fact, now that Lily was paying attention, she realized that Tonks' straight strawberry blonde hair was now short and curly. Her freckles were also no longer apparent. And maybe it was Lily's imagination, but her nose was looking a little pointier than it had before. Lily shook her head, hoping that she wasn't hallucinating.

"That's true Tonks! You do get to take a boat. It's quite a fun ride," Lily lied. She in fact had hated every moment of her own first trip across the lake. She had been terrified of the giant squid that was known to live in there; a fact that James had told her as they had boarded their boats.

"Firs' years!" A voice called through the crowd. It was the voice of Hagrid, Hogwarts' grounds keeper. He was half giant, which meant he towered over the students. "Calling all firs' years. I need you to gather over here!"

"He's huge!" Tonks commented when she spotted him.

"That's Hagrid," Lily laughed. "You'll like him, he's a big softy."

"Ok, well I better get going. Thanks Lily, for everything," she said. "I hope I'm sorted into Gryffindor!"

"Whatever house you end up in, we'll still be friends, I promise," Lily said.

"Deal," Tonks said as she scampered off. "Bye Elise!"

"There goes our little girl, all grown up," James said dramatically as he snuck up behind Lily and draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Arm. Off. Potter." Lily growled. "Where did you guys come from?"

"We saved you fine ladies a carriage," Sirius said, gesturing toward the one nearest to them.

Seeing no other choice, Lily and Elise climbed in after the boys. It no longer seemed strange to any of them that the carriages that brought students to the castle were pulled by invisible beings called threstrals. Of the group, only James could actually seen the winged horse-like creatures, a fact which he had told no one. Not even Sirius.

"Can you believe this is the last time we'll do this?" Asked Elise, nostalgically.

"Not at all," Remus said shaking his head.

"It feels like just yesterday _we _were first years," Lily sighed. "I remember how nervous I was that first day."

"I remember that day like it was just yesterday," James said with a grin. "That's the day I met" he looked at Lily and said, "all of you. Well, except you, El. I already knew you."

"It was hardly a friendly meeting for some of us, Potter," Lily reminded him coldly.

"Oh come on now," James defended. "It was an innocent mistake bumping into you like that."

"Oh yeah? Just like lighting my hair on fire during fourth year was a mistake?" Lily countered. "Or throwing a quaffle into my pumpkin juice? How about the time you tripped me down the stairs into the dungeons? The list goes on and on, Potter. You can't say that everything you've done to me over the past six years was a mistake."

Lily didn't know why she was getting so upset. Perhaps it was easier to remember all of James' faults instead of acknowledging the strengths she was coming to learn and actually like.

"That's not fair, Lily," James said sadly. "Haven't you ever heard of forgive and forget?"

Whenever James thought he was having a breakthrough with Lily, he always ended up taking ten steps backwards. No matter how much he changed, or matured, or tried to prove himself, Lily would never see him as anything but an immature prankster.

"Yeah, Lily-flower. That's no way to speak to your _boyfriend," _Sirius provoked.

"WHAT?" Peter sputtered.

"_Boyfriend_?" Remus questioned, nearly jumping out of his seat.

"Drop it guys!" James shouted. He knew his friend had taken it too far, and Lily would not react well to their goading.

"Are you two _dating_ now?" Peter asked incredulously.

"What did you mean, _boyfriend_?" Remus asked again.

Lily had had enough. She couldn't handle being a part of this conversation for another second.

"Stop the carriage!" She shouted.

"You can't stop the carriage, Lily. There's no one driving it," Elise explained, hoping to calm her friend down.

"Fine, but I'm getting out of here." she pulled the door open and looked at the ground as it soared past.

"Don't be ridiculous, Lily!" Elise called grabbing the back of her robes.

Lily considered the height of the carriage and the speed with which they were moving. She decided she could make it without any major injuries. Pulling her robes away from Elise, she launched herself out of the carriage and into a bed of tall grass. She landed on her hands and knees and rolled slowly to a stop.

"Lily!" Elise shouted after her, shocked at her friend's drastic behavior.

James pushed his way past Elise and jumped out of the carriage after Lily.

"That can't be good," Elise said, sitting back down on the now empty bench across from Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Anyone want to take bets on which one makes it back in one piece?" Sirius said, wondering if he was joking or if he should be concerned.

* * *

James, who had landed gracefully on his feet, searched for Lily in the tall grass. He found her sitting with her elbows resting on her knees.

"Are you ok?" He panted, winded from running in search of her.

"Oh, jeez!" Lily groaned when she saw him. "Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" James asked.

"Coming to my rescue. Asking if I'm ok," she explained angrily.

He didn't understand. Why was she so upset? Why had she been so desperate to get away from him that she leapt out of a moving carriage. He had thought that after what had happened between them over the summer, she would think better of him.

"Can I at least help you up?" He held his hand out to her. She took it reluctantly and he pulled her to her feet.

They stood there in the dark for a long while, neither knowing what to say or do.

"Look Evans, do you really find me so revolting that the idea of being my girlfriend caused you to launch yourself out of a carriage?" He asked in all seriousness. With his words, he felt a stab of pain in his chest.

"No," Lily mumbled. "That's not it."

"Then why did you do it?" James asked, a little more vehemently than he had intended.

"It's exactly that. The fact that I _don't_ find you revolting," Lily said, confusing even herself. "It used to be so simple. You were an annoying nuisance. Now you're the guy who comes to my rescue, and says unexpectedly sweet things. You help out first years and take charge as Head Boy. I don't know what to make of it."

"So what exactly are you saying?" James wondered aloud.

"I don't know. I just feel so… confused."

_So do I, _he thought.

"I don't know what to think anymore," she resisted the urge to run away like she had back in the carriage.

He heard the pain in her voice and found himself wanting to comfort her. But the burn of rejection still stung, fresh in his mind.

"It was so much easier hating you," she continued. "This is weird to me, seeing you… like this." She couldn't keep the tears from flowing now.

"Lily, it's ok. It's ok to be confused," he broke down and comforted her.

"How can you be so sure?" Lily asked. "You don't even know me. I'm not as great as you think I am. How can you like someone who keeps hurting you over and over?"

"My thoughts and my feelings are my own. You can't tell me I'm wrong," James said quietly.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" She meant the question rhetorically, of course, but he wasn't quite sure.

"I can't force you to be interested in me, Lily. It has to be your decision."

They stood there in the dark again, neither saying a word.

"We should probably get moving if we're going to make it to the feast," Lily said, awkwardly changing the subject.

Even though James wished she would continue to open up to him, he conceded and together they started walking toward the castle in silence.

"Wait, I have a better idea," James said, snapping Lily back to reality. She had been busy trying to sort out the opposing thoughts in her head.

He pointed a ways to their left and explained. "Over there is a threstral. We can ride it back to the castle. It will be much quicker than walking."

"I don't see anything," Lily began. "Wait a minute. A threstral, as in the animal that pulls the carriages and is only visible to people who have seen... seen death?" Lily changed her tone as she realized what this meant.

"James, you can see threstrals?"

James didn't let himself read into her use of his first name.

"Yeah," he said dismissively. "Come on."

"I don't know how I feel about this. Can _you_ imagine what it would be like to ride something you can't even see?"

"Frankly Lily, it's been three months since I've had Hogwarts' pumpkin pie, and at this rate it will be at least one more day if we don't hop onto this threstral."

"This can't be safe!" she mumbled.

Although Lily was very uncomfortable with the idea, she allowed James to hoist her onto the invisible beast. He jumped up after her.

"Be honest, how ferocious does this thing look?" She asked, gripping invisible fur that she assumed to be its mane.

"Looks like a cuddly kitten," James lied. "Let's go," he said, digging his heals into the animal's side.

The threstral took off from the ground and into the air. Lily had forgotten that threstrals had wings and their primary mode of transportation, when they weren't pulling heavy carriages, was to fly. She squealed as she was lifted off the ground. It was the strangest sensation to be flying atop a solid surface, but to look down and see nothing but air beneath you. Lily didn't want to admit it, but she quite enjoyed the brief ride to the castle.

That being said, she was plenty relieved when her feet were planted firmly back on the ground.

James patted the beast in gratitude and sent him away. He found Lily beaming up at the castle, well lit against the night sky.

"Home," she sighed.

"Home," he echoed, but it wasn't the castle James was staring at in the pale moonlight.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked as they made their way to the giant front doors of the castle. "I think you were even enjoying yourself."

"It wasn't terrible," she agreed. "I don't mind flying as long as it's not on a broomstick."

"What?" James said, seeming personally offended. "There's nothing quite like riding a broom."

"Agree to disagree," Lily granted.

"Come on, Lily. If you would just let me take you for a ride it would change your mind so fast," he said without thinking.

"I don't think so."

When they entered the castle, there was no one else in the corridors. Everyone must have already made it to the feast. James hoped they hadn't missed dessert.

Lily stopped James right outside of the doors to the Great Hall.

"Hold on a second," she said shyly.

"Yes?" James asked expectantly.

Lily looked around to make sure they were alone. Unfortunately for her, she did not consider looking up, for if she had, she would have noticed Peeves, the devious school poltergeist, hovering above them. He had been waiting to pelt first years with dungbombs after the feast.

"I'm not ready to tell anyone about what happened this summer. It's just sort of... embarrassing and personal, you know what I mean?" she explained.

James nodded.

"Ok then. So we agree not to tell anyone about the wedding?"

"Agreed," James said. "Can we go eat now?"

Several students turned to look as Lily and James entered the hall. Blushing furiously, Lily hurried over to an open seat next to Elise. James found a spot between Peter and Remus.

"What did I miss?" Lily whispered to Elise.

"Seriously?" Elise said with attitude. "You're going to ask me that? You jumped out of a moving carriage for Merlin's sake, and you aren't even going to mention it?"

"Later," Lily promised. "What did I miss?"

"You missed the Sorting Hat's song... dark times, blah blah blah, watch out for each other, blah blah blah," Elise imitated. "And now they're half way through sorting first years into houses. But get this," she added excitedly. "Every time someone is sorted, Bellatrix Black cheers for them louder than anyone. It's unnerving."

As if to prove Elise's point, the Sorting Hat yelled out "Ravenclaw" and a young boy jumped off the stool at the front of the room.

"You go Dillon Smith! Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure! You are one smart cookie," Bellatrix yelled loudly, giving the boy a standing ovation. Her face looked mortified.

The rest of the students roared with laughter. It wouldn't have been so funny if it had been anyone else cheering, but Bellatrix was known as the school bully and had never said anything nice in her life.

No one laughed harder than Lily though.

"Remind me to explain that to you later too," she said to Elise who was still shaking with laughter.

From the front of the hall, Professor McGonagall called "Tonks, Nymphadora" to be sorted.

Lily watched nervously as Tonks took a seat on the stool and pulled the sorting hat onto her head.

When the hat called "Gryffindor," Tonks threw her fist happily into the air.

The joyous whoops from the Gryffindor table were silenced when Bellatrix yelled "I'm so proud of you, Tonks! You're so brave and strong. You show those Gryffindors what you're made of."

Angrily, Bellatrix slammed her fists on the table in front of her and ran from the Great Hall, shoving anyone who got in her way.

"You're a Gryffindor!" Lily greated Tonks with a hug as she sat down next to her.

"I was so afraid I would get stuck in Slytherin!"

"Oh, but Tonks, you're so brave and strong," Elise giggled, "of course you belong in Gryffindor with us."

"Did you hear that too?" Tonks asked. "Did Bellatrix really congratulate me? I thought maybe I was hallucinating."

"Nope, you're still sane. We all heard it!"

"What do you think made her change her mind?"

"I don't think she changed her mind, Hun. I may have paid her a little visit after what she did to you this morning," Lily explained between chokes of laughter. "I tried out a new charm that makes the recipient say only kind words. Apparently she doesn't know how to make it stop."

After another round of laughter, Tonks gave Lily a grateful hug.

"That was genius," Elise praised. "You invented your own charm? That's _seriously _complicated magic!"

Lily shrugged. "I had some time on my hands over the summer."

It was several minutes before Professor McGonagall, who was leading the sorting, could get the other students to stop laughing. After Bellatrix's quick departure, the rest of the sorting progressed uneventfully. After the last first year, Arthur Zion, was sorted into Slytherin, an extravagant feast appeared on each of the house tables.

Joyous sounds filled the hall as students loaded their plates and goblets with all they could eat and drink. Lily couldn't help glancing down the table to see James shoving a massive fork-full of pumpkin pie into his mouth. An overly dramatic look of pleasure spread across his face, and Lily couldn't hold back a smile at the sight of it.

"What are you looking at Lily?" Elise teased with an annoyingly knowing smirk.

"Oh, come off it El," Lily rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Come on, just tell me what happened between the two of you!"

"Later!" Lily snapped for the third time that day. Feeling instantly guilty for her harsh tone, she added, "Tell me about your summer. Besides the week I spent at your house last month, I hardly know what's been going on in your life."

* * *

After consuming approximately half of her body weight in rich and buttery foods, Lily felt drowsy and full. She was desperate to find her cozy four-poster bed waiting for her up in the Gryffindor tower, and was relieved when Professor Dumbledore finally dismissed them from the feast.

Despite her protesting stomach, Lily rose quickly to lead the other Gryffindors up to their common room. As she pushed open the large double doors of the Great Hall, she was overcome by the high-pitched, sing-song cackle of Peeves the poltergeist.

Lily opened her mouth to scold him, but was instantly silenced by the words of his song.

_"James and Lily Potter_

_Went to the altar_

_Said 'I do'_

_Now their marriage is pooooo!"_

Students poured out around Lily as she stood frozen in shock. Peeves continued to screech his song as he flew circles over their heads. Lily felt the eyes of her classmates upon her. She heard their laughter and jeers. She even saw that some had the audacity to point at her. Yet, she could not will herself to move. Her feet felt rooted to the ground while her cheeks burned red and hot.

Elise appeared next to Lily. "What's everyone laughing at?"

Lily didn't need to respond. Peeves broke out into another round of song just above their heads.

"WHAT?" Elise shouted. "YOU AND JAMES GOT MARRIED?"


	4. Chapter 3: The Truth Revealed

**Chapter 3: The Truth Revealed**

"Tell me this is all a terrible dream," Lily moaned, her face hidden beneath her pillow.

"Tell _me _this is all a terrible dream!" Elise retorted.

She was sitting next to Lily on her bed. They had just managed to escape the crowd of nosy students who had overheard Peeve's shenanigans. They had followed Lily all the way to the common room, bombarding her with questions and wondering if the rumors were true.

"Look, I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but -" Elise was interrupted when the door to the girl's dormitory flew open and their two roommates came storming in.

Wren Goldstein was first through the door, her long black hair billowing behind her. "Lily, is it true?" she huffed. "I just heard from Hannah Green that James Potter got you _pregnant_ and forced you to marry him!"

"What?!" Lily shot up in bed. "This stupid rumor is getting out of hand!"

"I told her it wasn't true, Lily," Alice Wolf posited as she darted into the room behind Wren.

Alice was a quiet girl who short brown hair and a kind, round face. She was an incredibly gifted witch, and like Lily, she was muggle-born.

"Of course it isn't true, Alice. I can't believe people are saying that I'm pregnant," Lily practically whimpered.

"Well then please tell us what _is_ true, Lily," Elise begged. The other two girls murmured in agreement as they settled onto Lily's bed.

Lily squeezed her pillow against her chest. "I don't even know where to start."

"How about starting by telling us whether or not you and James got married."

"No! I absolutely did not nor will I ever marry James Potter!"

"Ok, ok, we get it," Wren said.

"So why did Peeves seem to think that you had?" Elise asked.

"He must have overheard James and I talking in the corridor about my_ sister's_ wedding and misinterpreted us."

"Oh," Wren said, caught off guard, "well that's unfortunate."

"But why were you talking to James about your sister's wedding?" Elise asked, determined to get to the bottom of what had happened between the her best friend and her cousin.

Lily hid her face again with her pillow. "I don't want to say. It's too embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than a secret shotgun wedding to your self-proclaimed arch nemesis?" Wren asked pointedly.

"Good point," Lily sighed. "Ok, let me start from the beginning then. Do you remember the day last spring when our transfiguration final essays were due?"

"Yeah, but Lily, what does that have to do with anything?" Alice wondered.

"It has everything to do with it. That morning you three were in the library finishing your essays, so I ate breakfast with the Marauders."

* * *

_A letter came for me that morning. After reading it, I slammed it down on the table. _

_"What's that Lily?" Remus asked curiously._

_"An invitation to my sister's wedding," I explained, furrowing my eyebrows. _

_"What, you didn't expect to be invited?" Sirius asked. While the others laughed at his seemingly snide comment, I knew he was sincere. Sirius understood my family issues better than anyone._

_"No, I knew that my parents wouldn't have it if I weren't invited. It's just that she addressed it to 'Lily and guest'. And then at the bottom she wrote: 'Can't wait to see who you scrounge up for a date'. Ugh. She knows I don't have anyone to bring, and she's simply trying to embarrass me in front of my family."_

_I noticed James' ears perk up as he stiffened in his seat._

_"Lily, it's not a big deal. Just don't take a date," Remus suggested._

_"You don't get it. You don't know what the pressure's like with my family. Petunia thinks she's so much better than me because she's getting married at 19. You should hear the way my grandmother praises her. 'You must be a true lady, Tuney. You take after me when I was your age'," I mocked in a high-pitched voice. "'As for Lily, well she'll end up an old spinster the way she carries on.'"_

_"Since when do you care what other people say, Lily?" James asked._

_"Since I got this invitation," I huffed. "There's only one solution here. I need to bring a date who will pretend to be my boyfriend. That will get them off my back."_

_James nearly choked. He put his hand over his mouth to keep from blurting out. I pretended not to notice. _

_"Well who are you going to bring Lily? I know guys who would line up to get a date with you, even if it was fake," Remus said subtly, glancing at James out of the corner of his eye._

_"Hmm, I have standards for fake boyfriends," I answered scanning the room._

_"Remus? What do you say? Will you pretend to go out with me?" I asked...ok, maybe begged._

_Remus choked on his cereal. "Excuse me?" He sputtered, refusing to look at James' haunting glare._

_"It would be fun. We're friends right? Will you pretty please accompany me to my sister's wedding on August 6__th__?"_

_Flustered, Remus pulled out his pocket calendar. "Sorry Lily, I'll be travelling with my family that weekend" he lied. He gave Lily a look that conveyed his hidden meaning._

_I sighed, rounding on Sirius. "Ok then, how about you Sirius? You wouldn't happen to be' _travelling' _that night, would you? How about being my fake date?"_

_ "Sorry Lily-flower, I made a vow never to fake date again," he replied casually, shoving his mouth full of cereal._

_I snorted. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that."_

_Sighing, I turned a bit more desperately toward my third choice._

_"Peter?" I asked hopelessly. "Please come with me?"_

_He flushed as he strongly considered saying yes. I doubt he'd ever been asked out by a girl before. But even Peter knew that saying yes would be in violation of an unspoken agreement between the Marauders. _

_"Er… I don't really like weddings, Lily. Can't dance—you know, two left feet," he shrugged nervously. "Sorry though."_

_It took all my effort to avoid looking at James. I was afraid of what I might see in his eyes. I knew I should ask him too, but I couldn't bring myself to form the words. _

_"You know what? You were right James. I don't care what other people think of me. I'll just show up alone and deal with their ridicule. I mean, big deal right?" I said instead, probably trying too hard to sound convincing._

* * *

"So you didn't ask James?" Alice interrupted, a look of pity on her face. "He must have been devastated!"

"He was," Lily sighed. "It was painful to look at. I saw him later that day and he looked like a small wounded animal. He barely talked to anyone and he went without dinner."

Elise scoffed. "What? That boy eats like a horse. You must've crushed him, Lily."

"Before you chastise me, listen to the rest of the story," she insisted.

* * *

_When James didn't show up for dinner, I knew exactly where I could find him. I left early and headed out to the quidditch pitch. I sat alone in the stands for several minutes watching him fly overhead before he noticed me. He made a sharp (and impressive) turn on his broomstick and came to land beside me. _

_"What are you doing here, Evans?" He asked somberly._

_I took a deep breath, summoning the courage to do what I had to do. "I wanted to talk to you."_

_"Ok, talk."_

_"I'm really sorry about this morning," I began shakily._

_He just shrugged, fidgeting with his broomstick._

_"I was having second thoughts about the whole fake date idea. That's the only reason I didn't ask you," I lied._

_He turned to look at me, sizing me up as if trying to read my mind._

_"Oh really? So it had nothing to do with not wanting to ask me to go with you?" _

_"No, it wasn't like that," I lied again. _

_"Whatever Evans. Don't worry about it then," he replied dismissively._

_"Well here's the thing," I took a deep breath, "I've changed my mind again. I don't know if I can face Petunia without out a date... I mean fake date. So, I'm wondering, if you're not doing anything August 6th, and only if you're interested of course, will you go with me to my sister's wedding?" _

_I don't know what his face did because I was busy staring at my feet. I knew I was blushing furiously, and was wishing I could crawl into a hole. _

_"Are you sure?" He asked with a poor attempt to hide his excitement._

_"Yes. I'm sure. Since the other Marauders are too good of friends with you to say yes to me, you're my last hope. So will you help me?" I said as dryly as possible._

_"Well I don't know. I'll have to think about it," he said smugly._

_"You Prat!" I yelled, shoving him on the shoulder and storming away._

_"Oi!" He called after me. "I was just joking."_

_When I didn't stop, he hopped on his broomstick and caught up to me._

_"I'm in," he said, cutting me off. _

_I glared at him for a moment._

_"Fine, but you can't tell anyone," I warned. "I mean _anyone_, Potter. Not even your mates."_

_"Agreed," he said. With a wink, he took off into the night._

* * *

"So you brought him to the wedding?" Wren asked excitedly.

"Yes, I did take him against my better judgment. And that's why we were talking about the wedding in the corridor," Lily replied with a note of finality in her voice, hoping desperately that they wouldn't ask her to recap the entire story.

"Oh, come on, Lil. You _must_ tell us about the wedding!" Elise pleaded.

* * *

_The phone would not stop ringing despite my efforts to drown the noise out with my pillow. It was bloody six o'clock in the morning the day before the wedding. Finally, on the seventh ring, when no one had answered, I stumbled out of my room and into the kitchen where the phone hung on the wall._

_"Hello?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes to adjust to the light from outside._

_"Lily, is that you?" snapped the voice on the other end. "Why do you sound so hoarse? Did you just wake up?"_

_"No," I lied in response to my sister's annoyed voice on the other end of the line. _

_"Well good. This is no time for sleep. The florist is going to be there any minute, and I don't think I will be home from my facial in time to let her in. Tell her to put the flowers on the kitchen table and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING until I get back!" She practically shouted into the phone._

_"Flowers, table, got it," I mumbled. _

_"Lily! Wake up! Ugh, I can't trust you with anything!" With a click, Petunia hung up the phone._

_It wasn't that I didn't want to help with Petunia's wedding; it was just that I had been helping her incessantly for weeks. I had been planning showers, decorating centerpieces, tallying RSVP's, and not once had I received a "thank you" or even the smallest hint of gratitude. I wasn't even a bridesmaid for crying out loud._

_At first I had thought that maybe this wedding would bring my sister and I closer. I was determined to show Petunia that I was supportive no matter how vile I actually found Vernon Dursley to be. But Petunia failed to notice all of my efforts, and if possible seemed even more distant from me than usual._

_I desperately missed my friends at Hogwarts. I had spent as much time as possible visiting them over the break, but it wasn't enough. I used to have my friend Severus around to keep me sane during the summer, but we had hardly spoken in over a year after he had decided to harass me because of my blood status._

_The phone rang again, shaking me out of my sad reverie. _

_I picked it up bitterly. "I'm not brain-dead, Petunia! I know how to answer a freaking door!"_

_"Wow, are you always this pleasant in the morning?" Asked James Potter from the other end._

_"Sorry, James. I thought you were my sister."_

_"Yeah, I gathered that."_

_"Wait a minute," I sputtered. "How did you learn how to use a phone?"_

_"It's a pay phone. We learned about them in muggle studies. They're really quite like magic if you think about it."_

_"I suppose. So what do you want? I'm kind of in a hurry."_

_"I was merely wondering when you would like me to arrive for our date."_

_I didn't even have to see him to know that he was grinning from ear-to-ear on the other end of the phone. The truth was, since I had so much else on my mind over the summer, I hadn't even thought about inviting him to the wedding. _

_"You can't be serious! I already told you at least three different times."_

_"No I'm not Sirius, this is James. Sirius is here if you want to talk to him though."_

_Lily rolled her eyes. Even from a distance James was annoying._

_"Be here at 5:30 tonight for the rehearsal dinner."_

_The doorbell rang. "I've got to go. Will I see you then?" _

_"Of course. I can't wait!" James replied._

_I hung up the phone, feeling anxious at the thought of James Potter showing up at my house._

_After directing the florist to arrange the flowers on the table, I ran to my room to get ready for the day. I threw on a sundress and pulled my hair into a braid down my back. It was all I had time for before the front door slammed shut. _

_"Lily!" Petunia bellowed. "Get out here!"_

_Here we go, I thought._

_I spent the entire day on errands and trivial tasks as my grandmother and several family friends poured in from around the country. I was sick of making small talk and lying about the "boarding school" I supposedly attended. I began to doubt that I would make it through the weekend without losing my mind._

_Finally, after nearly 12 hours of uninterrupted slave labor, I sat down for the first time all day. I rested my head on the kitchen table and quickly dozed off, until…_

_"Lily?"_

_ My mother's voice woke me abruptly from my slumber. _

_"James is here."_

_I took a stabling breath and followed my mother's call._

_"Hey Lily!" James greeted me, grinning broadly._

_"Lily, you didn't tell me your boyfriend was so handsome," Mum commented, studying me carefully._

_I blushed a deep crimson. "Hi James," I stepped forward and threw my arms around his neck. _

_He paused for a moment, uncertain of how to respond to this unprecedented event, then wrapped his arms gently around my back. I felt his heart pounding rapidly in his chest._

_"I'm so glad you're here. I'm going crazy," I muttered so that only James could hear._

_After introductions to nearly my family and guests, I led James to my bedroom. I hesitated at the door, but after a moment decided on closing it._

_James plopped down on the edge of my bed, taking in his surroundings. I did not like the look that spread across his face. _

_"Ok Potter. Let's set some ground rules here. You mustn't forget that we are only fake dating. So don't push your luck, but also don't make it obvious."_

_Arms folded, I began to pace across the room._

_"Here are the rules. Number one, NO KISSING!_

_"Number two, no suggestive looks._

_"Number three, no suggestive comments._

_"Number four, no touching apart from holding hands, and even that only happens when others are present._

_"Number five, no pranks!"_

_I spun to face him and held his gaze for a moment before continuing my list._

_"Number six, no calling me gross pet names that resemble food or fluffy animals,_

_"Number seven…"_

_James stared at me as if in a trance, memorized by the sound of my voice or something. _

_"Finally, number forty-two, no talking about Hogwarts, magic, or anything else of that sort when my family is around, got it?"_

_"You are so cute when you're bossy," James sighed._

_I frowned. "Were you even listening?"_

_"Of course! Quiz me," he challenged._

_"Fine, what was rule number 17?"_

_James scoffed, "That's easy… no picking my nose in public," he teased._

_"You're hopeless," I said, picking up a pillow and chucking it at him. He caught it easily and tossed it back at me, hitting me unexpectedly in the face._

_"Oh, you better run, Potter," I threatened, as I picked up the pillow and chased him out of my room._

* * *

"Wait, you and James had a pillow fight?" Wren practically screamed.

"It was hardly a pillow fight, Wren. I smacked him a couple times for being annoying," Lily replied, irritated by the interruptions.

"I just can't believe that you actually let James into your room!" Elise added.

"Yet you believed that I married him?" Lily said sardonically. "Doesn't really add up El."

"Fair enough."

"Let her finish!" Alice snapped. "I'm dying to know what happened next!"

* * *

_James spent the whole car ride to the rehearsal dinner obsessing over car horns, traffic lights, and power windows. Mum and Dad found it absolutely hilarious. They were quite taken with him. I, although slightly annoyed as he rolled the window up and down and up and down, admired his child-like enthusiasm._

_"Is the window broken on your car?" Vernon asked, when we finally stepped into the restaurant. "We were following close behind you and it seemed to be acting strangely."_

_I gave James a smug look. "Yup, it's been broken for awhile now," I lied._

_"'No playing with windows' wasn't on your list of rules," James whispered in my ear as I lead him into the restaurant._

_The majority of the dinner passed uneventfully. I was surprised at how comfortable James seemed with my family and the Dursleys (Petunia's soon-to-be in-laws), who were not an altogether easy group of people to get along with. He was even pleasant toward Vernon, who was by far the most impossible of the clan._

_James and I were sitting across from my grandmother, who turned to us and asked, "Lily, tell me, how did you and your boyfriend meet?"_

_"At school," I answered vaguely._

_James smiled at Gran. "We actually met on our very first day. I accidentally bumped into Lily, causing her to spill the contents of her travelling trunk. Let's just say she wasn't too happy with me. After that, she seemed to want nothing to do with me, but I never felt the same. After six years she's finally come around though," he finished sheepishly._

_"Well that's nice dear," Grand said approvingly. "Lily can be quite hot-headed at times. But I'm glad she finally found some sanity."_

_I rolled my eyes. Really? I seem to have _LOST_ my sanity bringing him here._

_"Oh please Gran. Can't you see that they're faking?" Petunia hissed, pulling her attention away from Vernon's droning story about the drill market (He worked as a drill salesman... how simply boring). "She was too ashamed to come alone, so she paid this boy to go out with her. There's no other explanation."_

_I felt my cheeks turn a warm shade of red. I wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. _

_"That's quite an accusation Petunia, but I assure you, Lily would never have to pay me to go out with her," James replied. He smiled at me, looking into my eyes reassuringly. "I'll prove it," he said back to Petunia. "Ask me anything about her. Why would I know if I weren't head-over-heels for her?"_

_"Fine," Petunia agreed, smugly. "What's her favorite color?"_

_"Yellow."_

_"That's easy. When's her birthday?"_

_"August 30th."_

_"What's her middle name?"_

_"Therese."_

_"Where is her favorite place in the world?"_

_"Edenborough, right off the coast of Scotland where she vacationed when she was 9." _

_I feared for a moment that he would say Hogwarts, but he apparently remembered rule forty two._

_"What's she most afraid of?"_

_"Snakes. And failure."_

_I frowned, but realized that he was right._

_"What does she want to be when she grows up?"_

_"She wants to be a –"_

_"That's enough Petunia," I interrupted. It was then that I realized that nearly the whole table was listening into their conversation. Even Vernon had stopped rambling. "I think he's proven enough. Besides, he could ask you the same questions, and you most certainly wouldn't know the answers. You don't know me at all anymore," I finished sadly._

_No one really knew what to say to either of us. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, I excused myself from the table. James followed quickly after me and found me outside, sitting on a curb in the parking lot._

_"Are you ok?" he asked sitting next to me._

_I shrugged. "I just made a fool of myself at my sister's rehearsal dinner."_

_"Want to talk about it?"_

_I looked at him and was overwhelmed by his sincerity._

_"How did you know all that stuff about me?" I asked timidly._

_He laughed. "Lily, I know more than just that about you. I pay attention. I remember because it's worth remembering."_

_An unexpected shiver ran up my spine. I was caught completely off guard by his knowledge of me and his thoughtfulness._

_"You miss your sister don't you?" He asked without warning. _

_I nodded. "I miss my old sister from when we were younger. We did everything together. She knew me better than anyone." I was smiling, but then sighed. "But things changed. I was the one who chose to leave. She saw it as me abandoning her when I left for Hogwarts. She saw it as betrayal, and it hasn't been the same ever since."_

_ James reached out and took my hand. I didn't pull away. "She still loves you, Lily. I can tell. Things might not go back to the way they were, but people change and people grow apart. I'm sorry that it has to be this way. But you could say that you have a new family now. If you hadn't gone away to Hogwarts you wouldn't have met Elise… or me."_

_I didn't even know how to respond to this side of James. It was easy to yell at him, or argue with him. But when it came to serious conversation, I found myself caught off guard. _

_That night I lay awake in my bed, thinking about my day with James Potter. He was so full of surprises, I thought. This James was considerate and kind. And how did he know all that stuff about me?_

_By the end of a nearly sleepless night, I came up with two theories. Either this was just how James acted away from Hogwarts and the pressure from his friends, or he was actually someone else under the influence of a polyjuice potion._

_After waking up feeling tired and cranky, I spent nearly an hour in the bathroom trying to do my hair without magic. Good enough, I finally decided. It's not like it really matters. I'm not even in the wedding, and I have nobody to impress. But deep down I wondered how James might react to my finished product. I didn't realize that I cared to impress him; instead, I blamed the strange feeling in my stomach on indigestion._

_I put down the hairspray and left the bathroom._

_In the meantime, James had been in the guest room, trying to figure out how exactly muggles tied ties. He finally gave up and went to ask my dad to help him tie the blasted thing._

_On his way, we bumped into each other in the hall. He gasped at the sight of me, causing me to feel suddenly insecure. I had on a midnight blue strapless gown and my hair was down in loose curls. _

_"Wow. Truly Lily, I've seen unicorns and I've seen veela, but I have never seen a creature so beautiful," he exhaled. _

_I rolled my eyes. "Save it James. You don't have to pretend when nobody else is around."_

_I saw the hurt that flashed across his face, but couldn't place where it had come from._

_"James…" I began. Unsure of how to continue, I said, "What in Heaven's name did you do to that tie?" It looked like it had been tied into a haphazard square knot around his neck._

_ I stepped forward and untied it, straightened it out, and placed it back around his neck._

_As I finished the knot, I glanced up to find him staring at me, and became suddenly aware of our proximity. _

_"What is going on here?" My grandmother asked sternly, poking her head into the room._

_I realized that I was still clutching James' tie and jumped backwards as if it had electrocuted me._

_"Er, hi Gran. I was just teaching James how to tie a tie," I was blushing furiously, and not only at the embarrassment of being caught._

_"You two behave now. I see how you can't keep your hands off each other," she warned with a stern scowl._

_We both laughed as she walked away. "Well that was sufficiently awkward, albeit convincing."_

* * *

_The wedding processional began, and the entire gathering of people craned their necks to wait eagerly for the bride. They smiled as the flower girls practically skipped down the aisle tossing petunia petals onto the white carpet._

_Delighted gasps filled the chapel as the doors opened to reveal Petunia dressed in all white, escorted by Dad down the center aisle._

_As they walked passed where James and I were sitting, I absentmindedly reached for James hand, squeezing it gently. Tears began to spill over my cheeks. I wasn't sobbing, or blubbering as was Vernon's sister Marge. It was merely a steady stream of what weren't happy tears. James brandished a pack of Kleenex that he had brought with him, just in case. I took it with a small smile, again surprised by his thoughtfulness._

_ Throughout the ceremony, he held tight to my hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. To be quite honest, I was no longer sure if it was part of the act. Would it have been different if I weren't trying to trick my family?_

_I wondered the same thing later at the reception, when James asked me to accompany him onto the dance floor. I cautiously wrapped one hand around his neck, and with the other rested my palm in his. He guided me gracefully around the floor, spinning me with the music, and dipping me on occasion. _

_"Where did you learn to dance, Potter?" I asked in amazement._

_"My mum taught me," he laughed, smiling from ear to ear. _

_The song ended, and I took a step away from him. "Want to go for a walk?" I asked shyly. _

_My head was spinning. Why… how… how could I be having so much fun with James Potter? Why had it felt so good to feel his hand on the small of my back? Had he slipped me some sort of love potion? _

_We walked outside and sat down on the grass, under the stars._

_"So what do you think of muggle weddings?" I asked him, taking care to sit a good arm's length away._

_"They're… interesting," he confessed. "Wizarding weddings are very different you know. I'm sure you've read about them somewhere," he flashed me a sideways grin. (I have a reputation for being somewhat of a bookworm)."Why did Petunia throw her flowers into that mob of girls? Is that normal?" _

_I laughed. "Yes, that's a wedding tradition. The bride tosses her bouquet into the crowd of single women, and whoever catches it is supposedly going to be the next one to get married. It is kind of silly now that I think about it."_

_"Wait a minute, you caught it! Who's the lucky guy, Lily? I'd like to meet him. Any guy who can win you over must be quite the catch," he teased._

_I punched him playfully in the shoulder, realizing that it probably hurt my fist more than him. I shook my head, removing thoughts of the tone-ness of his body. Absentmindedly, I scooted another few inches away._

_"Would you rather have a muggle wedding or a wizarding wedding?" James asked curiously._

_Little did he know, that was a loaded question. I contemplated my answer for a moment._

_"Neither," was all I said, playing with the grass in front of me._

_James' brow furrowed in confusion._

_"Oh I see," he mused. "You're planning to have a house elf wedding? Or is it elopement you're after? _

_I shook my head. "I'm not going to get married."_

_"You're… not? Never?" _

_ "Nope."_

_"Well, why not? You're only 16, how can you know that?"_

_"Easy for you to judge me James, you're a guy. But I have dreams. I have so many things I want to accomplish in my lifetime. I've seen my mum flush her dreams down the toilet so that she could be a wife. She wanted to be a doctor before she met my dad. Now she cleans the house and cooks dinner. Petunia used to have dreams too. She used to want to open her own restaurant. Isn't that great? But she hasn't even mentioned it since she met Vernon," I explained._

_"Not all husbands are like Vernon. Marriage doesn't always have to be like that. Having a husband doesn't mean having someone you need to serve. It means having a partner, someone to accomplish your dreams with," James countered._

_"What does your mum do, James?" I asked._

_"She…er… she stays at home, but that doesn't mean she hasn't accomplished her dreams."_

_I sighed. "James, I didn't give up my relationship with my family and my life to study magic so that I can someday become a wife. There is so much I want to do and see that marriage just isn't in the cards for me. Besides, this is a silly argument. I was merely answering your question, and telling you how I feel. What does it matter if you persuade me one way or another? It's not like I would ever marry you anyway."_

_"Lily, I've never asked you to marry me. All I've ever asked for is a date. What is so wrong with dating?"_

_"It's just that, what's the point really?" But even as I said it, I knew there was a point. I had had so much fun with James on our "fake date" that I couldn't help but wonder how much fun it would be to date him again… all the time._

_He didn't answer. He reclined in the grass, folding his arms under his head. A moment later I laid down at his side and rested my head on his arm._

_"You know, maybe I've been a little harsh on you in the past, James," I practically whispered. "I think I could agree to us… being friends. But promise me you'll never ask me to marry you," I said, only half jokingly. _

* * *

"That's it? You're stopping there?" Elise squealed. She, Alice, and Wren were sitting up in full attention to Lily's story.

"That's pretty much all that happened," Lily explained with a half shrug.

"Did he agree? To never ask you to marry him, I mean?" Alice asked.

Lily shook her head.

"He didn't?" Wren shrieked. "Why not?"

"We were interrupted."

"By what?" Elise asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"A meteor shower."


	5. Chapter 4: Aftermath

**Chapter 4: Aftermath**

When Lily didn't show up for breakfast with her roommates the next morning, James began to worry. He knew that the rumor effected her more than it did him. Even though it was about the two of them, everyone at Hogwarts had already known that he was in love with Lily. James also knew that the truth was embarrassing to her as well. Therefore, he wasn't sure exactly how to approach the situation.

The night before, when Peeves had unleashed the mischievous wrecking ball of a rumor outside the Great Hall, James had been one of the last students to hear it as he strolled lazily out of the feast.

_"Prongs," Sirius said, throwing out his hand to stop his friend. "Do you hear that, Mate? _

_"Hear what?" James replied absentmindedly._

_"You didn't get married by any chance did you?" Peter asked._

_"Of course not Wormtail, why would you ask that?" James wondered. _

_It was then that he heard Peeves cackling overhead. James quickly pushed his way through the crowd of students._

_"Oi, Peeves!" He yelled up to the pesky poltergeist. "You cut out that nonsense right now or I'll fetch the Bloody Baron."_

_James knew from experience that the ghost they called the Bloody Baron was the only being at Hogwarts who had any shred of control over Peeves. _

_"Hehehe, if it isn't Mr. Potty," Peeves snickered. "Where's Wifey, Potty?"_

_"I don't have a wife, Peeves," James yelled back. "Where do you come up with your ridiculous nonsense anyway?"_

_Instead of answering, Peeves unleashed a steady stream of dungbombs at James, whose quidditch reflexes took over. He dodged nearly all of them as he ran through the crowd and took off down the corridor. The poltergeist was hooting gleefully with every throw, thinking that he had outsmarted the infamous prankster, James Potter. In reality, James' plan was to run Peeves away from the cluster of meddlesome students, whatever the cost might be. He ran from Peeves for several minutes before he was able to track down the Bloody Baron. _

_Without another word, Peeves took one look at the blood-stained ghost and vanished through a wall._

_Tired, annoyed, and anxious to see Lily, James made his way to the Gryffindor tower._

_"There you are," Sirius greeted. He was sitting in the nearly empty common room with his feet up on a table. "You stink like dung, Mate."_

_"Have you seen Lily?" James asked, ignoring the comment. Scanning the room, he saw almost everyone staring his direction._

_"You mean your wife? No, she vanished. But I did see Elise go running up to their dorm. I would guess Lily's up there too." _

_"Bugger off, Padfoot! You know she's not my wife."_

_"I don't know Prongs, it seems like there's a lot you're not telling me these days," Sirius replied._

_Sighing, James flopped into the open chair next to Sirius. "I'd tell you if I could Padfoot, but for now just believe me that Lily and I aren't married, aren't dating, and probably aren't even talking after all of this."_

_"Why wouldn't you be talking?" Sirius asked. "What Peeves said wasn't your fault."_

_"Or was it?" Wren Goldstein interrupted. She stood glaring with her hands on her hips. _

_"What do you mean, Wren?" James asked, agitatedly. Wren was far from James' favorite person. He saw her as a gossip and a busy-body, and unfortunately as his ex-girlfriend. _

_"This has you written all over it Potter," she accused. _

_"What are you trying to say?" Sirius defended. "You think that James somehow persuaded Peeves to sing that stupid song?"_

_"I don't know, but are you saying that this doesn't sound like something Potter would do? Face it, everyone knows that you would do anything to win over Lily. For example, James, recall the time you serenaded her in front of the entire school?"_

_Sirius laughed, but his mouth snapped shut when he saw the nasty look his friend was flashing him._

_"Or how about the time you refused to score a goal during the house cup game until Lily agreed to go out with you?" Wren continued, determined to prove her point. While it may have seemed like she was trying to defend her friend, Lily, the truth was, Wren had always resented James' undying love for the red-head._

_"Enough, Wren. I had nothing to do with Peeves' rumor mongering, so back off." _

_"Fine, then maybe the rumor really is true," Wren concluded with excitement. _

_Before James could tell her otherwise, she had scampered off and was whispering intently with sixth year, Hannah Green._

_"I hope Lily doesn't blame me for this too!" James said, shrinking into his chair. _

* * *

When Lily woke up the next morning, she was instantly relieved to see the canopy of her four-poster bed hanging over her head, reminding her she was back at Hogwarts. It wasn't until she sat up that Lily remembered the events that had unfolded the night before. She moaned at the memory.

"Good morning Lily!" Alice said all too cheerfully. "Are you excited for our last ever first day of class?"

"Ugh, it's not the classes I'm thinking about," Lily grumbled. "I'm not exactly excited to face the aftermath of Peeves' stupid rumor."

"Oh, Lily, it will all blow over soon enough," Alice assured her.

"I don't know," Wren added, popping her head out between her bed curtains. "People were pretty interested last night."

"Not helping, Wren," Elise snapped as she rolled out of her bed. "Lily, whatever people are saying, it doesn't matter. You're _Head Girl_. You're above gossip. You just have to show our busy-body classmates that you don't care what they say."

Lily wished it were true. She wished that she didn't care what other people thought of her. Outwardly she appeared confident and secure in herself, but inwardly, she was terrified of rejection. Right now she stood at a crossroads. She could choose to rise above the rumor by going about life as she otherwise would. Or, Lily could fight against it, doing everything in her power to assure people it wasn't true.

"Earth to Lily," Elise chimed, waving her hand in front of Lily's expressionless face. "You still with us?"

Lily blinked. "Oh. Yeah, I was just trying to decide what to wear today," she lied, returning to her wardrobe.

"Hmm, you were trying to decide which _uniform _to wear today? Likely story," Elise teased.

Lily pulled out her standard black Hogwarts robes and scowled at her friend.

"Can I give you some advice, Lily?" Wren asked from where she stood in front of the mirror, applying layer upon layer of mascara.

"Do I have a choice?" was Lily's snarky reply.

"I think you should ignore James," Wren said. "If you stay away from him, people will eventually get a clue and realize you are definitely not married."

Elise looked at Lily and rolled her eyes.

"You know what, you're right," Lily began.

"Of course I'm right, this is me we're talking about," Wren said with a pompous grin.

"Actually Wren, I meant Elise was right," Lily explained smugly. "I need to be above this gossip. As Head Girl I need to set a positive example for the rest of the school."

* * *

Together the four Gryffindor seventh year girls made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. The corridors were buzzing with excitement as students anticipated the start to a brand new year.

"Miss Evans?"

Lily spun around to see her Transfiguration professor following after her.

"Good morning, Professor," Lily greeted cheerfully.

"And to you, Dear," Professor McGonagall replied warmly. She had always been fond of Lily, who was a great student and a kind girl. "I was wondering if I could have a quick word with you before breakfast."

"Of course, is everything ok?" Lily asked nervously.

"Why don't we step into my classroom for a moment," she suggested, gesturing over her shoulder to the nearest door.

Lily told her friends she would meet them later and followed Professor McGonagall inside.

"I'm glad I ran into you," McGonagall began. "I was hoping I'd also run into Mr. Potter, but you will have to cue him in on our discussion later."

Lily's heart thudded in her chest. What was she referring to? Why did she want to talk to Lily _and _James? Lily feared the worst, and assumed that even their professors had heard about the rumor from the night before.

"First of all I would like to say congratulations," McGonagall said.

Lily felt herself blushing. "Er-Professor, that's not necessary."

"Nonsense, it is quite an honor to be named Head Girl. To be quite honest, I always thought that you were the perfect choice."

_Head Girl, of course! _Lily thought to herself. _That's what all this is about, not some stupid fake marriage. Wow, I'm being paranoid today._

"Thank you very much, Professor," Lily replied, relief washing over her.

McGonagall proceeded to give Lily a packet of responsibilities and expectations for head students.

"The Headmaster would like to find a time to meet with the both of you later this week, and will expect you to have read this thoroughly."

Lily took the packet and nodded. "Anything else?"

"That is all for now. You better run along and get some breakfast. You've got a big day ahead of you."

"Indeed," Lily agreed. "I will be sure to pass these along to James," she added as an afterthought as she waved goodbye.

James felt unreasonably anxious when Lily pushed her way through the large oak double doors into the Great Hall. For once in his life, he couldn't think of how he should treat her. Should he ignore her? Should he be cordial? Should he act like he hadn't heard the rumor?

"Help," James whimpered to his friends when Lily began walking straight toward him. In their history, that had only ever meant one thing - Lily was pissed. Only this time she wasn't exhibiting the telltale rigid, huffy stomp that James was so used to seeing. No, this time she looked almost pleasant.

"Good morning," Lily greeted as she squeezed onto the bench between James and Elise.

She willed herself to stay calm and ignore everyone who was staring and pointing at her.

"Morning, Lily," Remus, Sirius, and Peter greeted from across the table. James was still busy collecting himself.

"Potter, I brought you something," Lily reached into her bag and pulled out the paperwork that McGonagall had given her. "I bumped into Professor McGonagall this morning, and she asked me to give this to you. We're supposed to read it before our meeting with Dumbledore later this week. Which reminds me, we need to come up with a time that works for both of us to meet with him. How about tomorrow during free period?"

When James didn't answer, Lily looked up from spreading jam on her toast to see him staring at her, a strange look plastered on his face.

"What?" Lily asked, feeling incredibly self-conscious.

"It's just that I thought that... you know... that you would be upset," he stammered.

Lily wasn't sure how to respond. So much for ignoring what had happened. She took a huge bite of toast to buy some time. To Lily's dismay, Hannah Green, who was sitting four people down from her, leaned across the table and caught her eye.

"Congratulations on the marriage, Mrs. Potter," Hannah said, feigning excitement. "And am I mistaken, or is that a baby bump I see under your robes?"

It took every ounce of self control she could muster to remain calm.

"That's enough Hannah," James said firmly. "I'd expect you to know better than to believe a rumor started by _Peeves_."

"So you're saying it was just a rumor then?" Hannah countered.

"Of course," James replied, losing his patience. "And even if it weren't, Hannah, stop sticking your nose in other people's business. Nobody likes a gossip."

The finality in his tone gave Hannah (and the dozen other students who'd been eavesdropping) no choice but to drop the subject.

"Sorry," James whispered to Lily. "I really have no idea how this all happened."

Looking into his eyes, Lily knew he was telling the truth.

"I believe you."

Those three magic words were all James needed to hear. Never before had Lily chosen to believe him. It had seemed that she always saw the worst in him. Admittedly, he often deserved it, but there were several times when Lily refused to see the good in him despite his best efforts.

As if summoned by the fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach, a gust of wind blew through the hall as dozens of owls cascaded in to find the recipients of their deliveries.

James' owl, Reuben, landed on the table in front of him and began to nibble on Lily's toast. She scratched his head and fed him the scraps of crust off her plate. James untied the letter and rolled-up edition of the _Daily Prophet _from his leg.

Sirius reached for the newspaper while James tore open the envelope.

"Oi, Prongs?" Sirius said after a few moments. "Isn't this guy a friend of your dad?"

He was brandishing the paper, pointing to an article with a headline that read "MISSING" and a photo of a balding man looking somberly out of the page.

"Yeah, that's Vinny Moore," James said sadly, snatching the paper from Sirius. "My dad used to work with him at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He's missing?"

"Yeah, they make it sound like he just wandered off or something," Sirius scoffed. "How coincidental seeing as there's a mass-murdering maniac on the loose."

"He did _not _wander off. Moore is an incredible wizard, and he's a threat to Voldemort, which means there is no way this is a coincidence!"

"Indeed, Mr. Potter. Vincent Moore was more important than you even realize," Professor McGonagall interjected sadly, looking over James' shoulder. She had been making her way around the Gryffindor table passing out semester timetables and had overheard their conversation

"What do you mean, Professor?" James asked.

"He was Head of Magical Law Enforcement and the leading supporter of an anti-You-Know-Who movement within the Ministry."

"So you think it was Voldemort then? Not a random disappearance?"

McGonagall's lips pursed. "All I can do is speculate, Mr. Potter."

"Did you know him, Professor?" Lily asked, noticing the sadness in her voice as she spoke of him in the past tense.

McGonagall nodded stiffly. "A long time ago. We used to work together at the Ministry."

"Professor, you said Moore was the leading supporter of an anti-Voldemort-" James began.

"Please stop saying his name!" she scolded.

"Sorry, but if he was leading the movement, what's going to happen now? At the Ministry I mean."

McGonagall pursed her lips. "That's a discussion for another day, Potter. For today, you've got bigger things to worry about. Such as which N.E.W.T. level classes you have on your schedule."

Handing the seventh years their timetables, she continued on down the table without another word. The girls glanced over their schedules eagerly, feeling a bit anxious for the difficult classes they were about to begin. James, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about what more McGonagall might know about the mysterious disappearance. He exchanged a meaningful look with the other Marauders, silently communicating a need for more information.

The girls were oblivious to the silent exchange as they compared schedules. Unfortunately they had less classes together than Lily would have liked.

"You're taking advanced Potions too, Lily?" Alice asked.

Lily nodded.

"Frank said that was the hardest class he ever had to take," she divulged. Frank was Alice's boyfriend of three years. He had graduated from Hogwarts the prior spring.

"Lily will do just fine," James said, interrupting their conversation. "She's a whiz at Potions, you know."

Embarrassed and frustrated with James, Lily bit her tongue and held back a fiery retort.

* * *

Lily and Alice walked together to Potions, which was their first class of the day. Absentmindedly, Lily threw open the door to the dungeons where class was held. She felt the door collide with something solid.

"I'm sorry!" Lily cried, realizing the solid object was in fact a person. "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously," the person moaned as he hoisted himself from the ground.

Lily groaned. She would have rather run into the blasting end of a blast-ended skrewt than Severus Snape, but there he stood before her.

"Watch where you're going," he said in his slow, articulate drawl.

The dungeon suddenly seemed suffocatingly small. Lily and Severus, who had once been best friends, had an epic falling out during their fifth year. Severus had made it very clear that he did not approve of Lily's blood status, and she made it known that she did not approve of his extremist Slytherin mates. Since then, they had experienced very few interactions.

"Excuse me, Severus, I need to find a seat," she said coldly, trying to shoulder her way past him. He stepped in front of her again, blocking her from passing.

"So I hear that congratulations are in order," Severus droned with a twisted smirk.

Lily was both embarrassed that the news of Peeves' rumor had reached him and furious that he had the audacity to harass her about it.

"Are you sure you want to go there Severus? Because believe me, my patience today has just about run out."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about congratulating _you_. I meant that _you _should be congratulating _me_."

"Oh, yeah? And exactly why is that?" Lily growled.

"Because I was right and you were wrong for _five _years," Severus said venomously. "I told you that you would eventually become desperate enough to settle for Potter, that arrogant prat, but you always protested. I believe you once told me you would rather die a slow, painful death than date _him_. Looks like I knew better all along."

"Really Severus? I never expected you to succumb to gossip. Then again, I also never thought you would succumb to chumming with blokes who torture and kill people for being halfbloods like you!" She screamed. In six years, Lily had never before outed Severus for his blood status. Even after their friendship had ended, she knew how dangerous it would be for him if his mates found out he'd been lying about his muggle father.

In an instant, a look of rage flashed across Severus' face, and his arm swung back above his head. Before Lily could even flinch, his arm froze, just inches from her face. Alice gasped behind Lily, but stood stunned as his arm lingered overhead.

"Severus!" Professor Slughorn, the Potions master, roared from behind him, his wand still raised from the freezing spell he had cast. "You will never ever strike a woman, do you hear me?"

Snape looked furious as he stood with his arm frozen above his head. Slughorn, a portly man, waddled over to him.

"I ought to have you suspended for such crude behavior!" Slughorn bellowed, a purplish color rising in his cheeks.

"Professor, with all due respect, I think that Severus was upset, but I don't think he actually meant to hit me," Lily said, unsure why she felt compelled to defend him.

When he was younger, Severus' father had regularly abused him and his mother. Lily had even seen it happen once, through the window of their house. She had never told Severus what she had seen. Perhaps that's why she defended him now. With a childhood spent as the victim of violence, it wasn't surprising that he reacted that way.

"I saw what I saw, Lily, my dear," Slughorn countered. "This boy had no intention of stopping his swing."

The professor studied the boy's smug face.

"One month's detention, Mr. Snape," was his verdict. "And you'll serve it with me in the dungeons. That way I can teach you a thing or two about how to treat a lady."

"Fine," Snape sneered. "Will you please release my arm." 

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love your feedback if you wish to review. Sorry for the wait for this chapter. The next one is written and coming soon!


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